Tuesday, July 31, 2018

“The government should be clear about its plans for automotive policy. Technical standards on imports to ensure passenger safety are welcome but other barriers to trade, including taxes and duties, designed to protect Malaysia’s domestic industry should be avoided,” he said in a statement.

Adli also challenged the claim that Malaysia’s car industry was at an “infant” stage.

He said Proton and Perodua had been in the market for at least 33 years and 24 years respectively.

“Perodua itself has grown so much that now it has the highest market share at 39.8 per cent for passenger vehicles and sold a total of 204,887 units in 2017 alone which surpasses all imported cars.

“Proton came third after Honda, with 13.8 per cent of market share for passenger vehicles and 70,991 units sold in 2017. These facts prove that there are flaws in an infant-industry argument. How long should our automotive industry be considered as an infant?” he asked.

Regarding the proposal for a third national car, Adli said he welcomed new players coming into the automotive industry if and only if the government stayed away from the market.

“In principle; we should not prevent any market player entering the industry if they have the capacity to do so.

“But, the government needs to stay away from the market and should not involve itself directly or indirectly in the process of setting up a third national car,” he said.

Instead, he argued that the government should focus on promoting competition.

“There are still many ways to ensure the current local automotive industry remains competitive, without setting up a new market player. One of the ways is to reduce excise duties on imported cars to reduce prices and motivate local car manufacturers to produce better quality products.

“The government needs to have a clear mind on which direction that they are planning to go. Malaysia should be open to trade and look to competition, rather than direct government support, to develop a competitive domestic car industry,” he said.

In other words, don't bloody use our (taxpayers') money to uselessly invest in someone's hobby.

Proton has been and until recently, still a disaster, selling only about 70,991 units compared to Perodua's 204,887 units. Thailand exports over 1 million units of automobile.

Proton is 33 years old and Perodua 24 years. Malaysia's car industry is not an infant industry that requires protection. It just cannot perform to world standards, not even with neighbour Thailand but least of all with South Korea which was in a worse economic situation to Malaya-Malaysia at our starts.

Eight years ago a RM270 million grant for an electric vehicle project has also been given to Proton, for a joint venture with a United Kingdom-based company owned by Kamal Siddiqi, who was said to be one of Mahathir’s friends, but was halted due to lack of success.

Should Malaysians carry Proton’s burden or allow that company to compete at its own capacity, like was done by Perodua.

If Perodua could become the top car marque in the country, there is really no excuse for Proton not to achieve the same.

Leave the automobile industry to private enterprises. Mahathir should stay out unless he wants to use his OWN money and not Malaysian taxpayers' money.

That way, it should prevent a certain powerful "enthusiast" from meddling-interfering-disrupting the professionals in their work too.

But the BEST political statement thus far for 2018 goes to IDEAS economist Adli Amirullah who demolished Mahathir's argument for a new national car to help develop engineering expertise and to protect our so-called infant-industry with his:

“Perodua itself has grown so much that now it has the highest market share at 39.8 per cent for passenger vehicles and sold a total of 204,887 units in 2017 alone which surpasses all imported cars.

“Proton came third after Honda, with 13.8 per cent of market share for passenger vehicles and 70,991 units sold in 2017.

These facts prove that there are flaws in an infant-industry argument. How long should our automotive industry be considered as an infant?”

Rais, who is a member of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), tweeted a picture of local daily Sinar Harian’s front page today with the headline “Desak Letak Jawatan” (Demands to Quit) that featured Umno Youth’s call for the DAP leader to resign as minister for allegedly calling the Malays “pendatang” (immigrants).

“When a minister or civil servant is urged to quit because of his ‘mulut celupar’ (rudeness) about an issue with a negative impact on the nation, the implications are huge.

“This minister has lost his credibility because he is unable to present himself as a Cabinet member,” Rais tweeted in Malay.

Who is Rais Yatim to talk about Kula?

Prior to GE14, Rais was in UMNO but tap-dancing through the tulips when he sensed Mahathir was doing great guns, thus just before GE14 was called for, he jumped ship and joined Pribumi, another racist organisation (from same DNA).

After not being appointed to anything anywhere following Pakatan's victory, he participated in an UMNO-PAS protest.

Previously, prior to the beginning of the 14th Parliamentary session, he accused Najib of being up to something no-good, then he fretted unnecessarily and kaypohchee-ly about Najib's sitting position on the opposition bench, and now he has to once again accused Najib, this time of being in control of UMNO.

Are those his fCk-ing business?

As if being obsessed about Najib and his dandruff and colour of his cawat weren't enough, the pompous treacherous Mr Sellout is also a seer (bomoh) as he is able to know how Zahid Hamidi, if having a choice, would have kept a great distance from both Apandi and Pandikar.

What a disgusting mafulat. He should stick to what he knows best, for which he was raving, ranting and raging over for 30 years, but now is amazingly silent as a mute due most likely to an absence of his once big balls (see image below):

KUALA LUMPUR: Things are heating up between DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang and Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as both are currently engaged in a war of words over Lim’s challenge for a public debate.

Najib responded by asking Lim to stop obsessing over him.

“Lim Kit Siang has released over 26 statements about me in this month alone trying to provoke me. He should stop being so obsessed with me.

“I am no longer the Prime Minister nor am I the Barisan Nasional (BN) president,” said Najib in a post published on his Facebook today.

Najib was responding to Lim’s challenge to a public debate that the DAP strongman posted on his blog today.

“I challenge Najib to a public forum 'Islam is not kleptocracy'. Accept the challenge and our respective representatives can decide on the place, date, time and other details for the public forum,” said Lim.

Well, I posted that mad obsession of Lim KS weeks ago, though after careful sifting through and analysis of his nonsense I reckon he probably might have an assigned objective, namely to kacau, kacau, kacau to distract the rakyat from his Tuan Tertinggi's continuous capati.

Secondly, he now wants to debate with Najib, a backbencher, on Islam.

Is Lim KS a Muslim? If he isn't, then who is he to debate Islam with a Muslim?

Very very disrespectful, but such is his devotion to his Tuan Tertinggi and thus his obsession with everything and anything to do with Najib, that he is willing to to intrude into hitherto out-of-bounds area for nons.

Lim KS has riposted that it's not Najib he is obsessed with but 1MDB and the alleged money-laundering scandal.

But isn't the PDRM now investigating the issue, with Pakatan announcing Najib will soon be shortly charged?

Why then is Lim KS still baiting Najib? Yup, not just about 1MDB but Najib's sitting position in Parliament, etc.

To answer that, we can only come back to Lim KS' devotion to his Tuan Tertinggi's assigned duty for him.

Once I mentioned, that the powers that-be will get Najib one way or another, and the available causes will be:

(a) 1MDB, if that fails then,

(b) Murder of Altantuyaa, if that fails then,

(c) Najib's tax returns, if that fails then,

(d) His son's dalliance with a Taiwanese actress, if that fails then,

(e) the distracting colour of Najib's underwear, etc etc etc.

Frankly, Najib won't have a snowflake's chance in Hell as someone very very powerful is fuming, raging and foaming at the mouth to get him, one way or another, whatever. Such is the fury surpassing even that of Hell by a imperialistic mentor scorned. Is Lim KS playing an important part in the vicious venomous vendetta?

But I return to Lim KS' response to Najib that it's 1MDB he is obsessed about.

I wonder why and whether he is still obsessed about the issues he had raved and ranted over for 30 years?

If not, why?

DAP leader Lim Kit Siang shook hands with Rohaizad Yaakob, a top Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) official to show the opposition’s solidarity with the MACC

A year earlier Kit Siang in his article, titled "Malaysians will not rest until justice is done for the killing of Teoh Beng Hock" said DAP and Pakatan Rakyat would continue to highlight the injustice of Teoh Beng Hock’s unresolved murder

There should be no excuses for Pakatan Harapan (PH) not to fulfil their “10 promises in 100 days”, claim analysts, who believe the ruling coalition should be held responsible if it does not achieve its stated goals.

PH has so far implemented only two of their election promises as their self imposed 100-day deadline looms, and it now seems more unlikely than ever that all remaining promises will be accomplished by then.

“They should not make excuses, because before they come up with those promises, they should have known that people have put high hopes on them, and one of the reasons people voted them in is because of that.

“Some people may feel cheated. But a promise is still a promise,” political analyst Assoc Prof Dr Jeniri Amir told the Sun today.

Jeniri said voters were likely most influenced by the promise of the postponing of National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) payments and a reduction in the cost of living.

He also called out the government for the excuses they have made in recent weeks, including blaming the RM1 trillion national debt and certain laws that are supposedly hampering their progress.

“They should have studied everything before drafting the manifesto. I’m just wondering, in the first place, why did they came up with such promises if they know they cannot deliver? I don’t think promises are cooked up just like that,” he said.

Economist Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said it was highly unlikely that PH would fulfill all their promises, claiming that the coalition had promised “too much too soon” in its bid to win votes.

“The manifesto was strongly, politically-motivated, like all other manifestos. But they promised too much too soon. My only hope is they will stick to the manifesto and accomplish them all, albeit slightly longer,” he said.

“They have to make promises which may not be very practical in terms of the timing (to gain votes), but they must still be fulfilled even if it is not within 100 days.”

The former Treasury deputy secretary-general, however, urged the public to give the first term government more time and space to carry out its duties.

KUALA TERENGGANU: The minister in charge of Islamic affairs says the government will think of new measures to stop sex-related activities linked to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community, saying the strict enforcement approach has failed.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa, citing figures by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) that 80% of transgenders were involved in the sex industry, said authorities would also help them return to the “right path”.

I know Mujahid Yusof Jawa is a good decent bloke but alas, I have to disagree with YB that the LGBT could be "returned" to whatever "right path" he might have been thinking of.

The reason for the preferred sexuality of LGBT is contrary to Abrahamic religious belief, to wit, that sexuality is a result of sinful (wicked) choice. Scientific evidence shows that sexual proclivity is in fact due to genetics, in other words, of a strong biological origin.

Thus LBGT inherited their genes from their parents, and thus, by religious logic, from their respective god.

Finding evidence for a biological basis should not scare us or undermine gay, lesbian and bisexual (LGB) rights (the studies I refer to do not include transgendered individuals, so I’ll confine my comments to lesbian, gay and bisexual people). I would argue that understanding our fundamental biological nature should make us more vigorous in promoting LGB rights.

Let’s get some facts and perspective on the issue. Evidence from independent research groups who studied twins shows that genetic factors explain about 25-30% of the differences between people in sexual orientation (heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and bisexual). Twin studies are a first look into the genetics of a trait and tell us that there are such things as “genes for sexual orientation” (I hate the phrase “gay gene”).

Yes, Minister Mujahid's men in JAKIM can "force" members of the LGBT to undergo rehabilitation camps but the results will be also "forced" confessions, "forced" repentance and "forced" pseudo-results.

The point is JAKIM and other like religious organisations cannot "force" genes to modify, though admittedly they can kill them (the genes).

We have a RM1 billion-per-annum-budgeted JAKIM to combat "liberalism, pluralism, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community", so would the current capati-promise by YB Minister Mujahid be to engage human-genetic engineering experts to modify, manipulate and re-codify those biological genes of the LGBT community?

I like bigger balls please

Oh, BTW, what happened to JAKIM's ONE MONTH of investigation into Nur Sajat sexuality.

Has it been a success, considering it's several months since? Did that investigation also include application of gene technology?

Obviously, JAKIM has to justify its RM1 Billion per annum budget by being deeply involved in earth-shaking national issues such as Nur Sajat sexuality. Thus we would want to know the results please as to whether JAKIM deserves its humongous budget.

That MF* mafulat-ish malarkey had then prompted Nur Sajat to ask JAKIM: Am I the country’s biggest problem?. Indeed, bearing in mind we have been constantly reminded by Mahathir and Guan Eng that we have a Trillion ringgit black hole.

Non-Muslims LGBT needn't worry about the minister's promise. He has been talking about Muslims LGBT.

given our so-called national debt, this may be all we can afford

Related:NST - Is Malaysia ready for gene therapy?.Brief extracts: ACCORDING to the seminal report, “Human Genome Editing ”, jointly released by the US National Academy of Science (NAS) and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) in early 2017, genome editing is a powerful new tool for making precise alterations to an organism’s genetic material.

Recent scientific advances have made it more efficient, precise, and flexible than ever before.

These advances have spurred an explosion of interest from around the globe on the possible ways in which genome editing can improve human health. The speed at which these technologies are being developed and applied has led many policymakers and stakeholders to express concern about whether appropriate systems are in place to govern these technologies and how and when the public should be engaged in these decisions.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — The government’s plan to limit the access of foreign cars to the local market is a regressive move for the growth of the country’s automotive industry, the Malaysian Automotive Association said.

Its President, Datuk Aishah Ahmad, said there should be a level playing field for local and foreign carmakers, as many of these foreign cars carried a lot of local components and provided business and employment opportunities to the locals.

“It is a very regressive move. I don’t think it’s right for the government to say that they want to stop all cars other than Proton to be brought into the country,” she told reporters after a meeting with the Council of Eminent Persons here today.

She said for the local automotive industry to move forward, the government must create a conducive environment through liberalisation like in Thailand and Indonesia. [...]

She also urged the government to review its plan for another national car, saying it would disrupt the local industry which only had a small market with a total industry volume of about 600,000 a year.

“What we don’t want is further incentives being provided for the new national car, which will really disrupt the industry. It does not help the industry at all,” she explained.

“Thailand is exporting more than 1.3 million cars a year and Indonesia more than 100,000 vehicles. What is Malaysia exporting? Twenty to thirty thousand units a year,” she noted.

But Aishah Ahmad must understand Mahathir's obsession with cars.

Guan Eng once told Mahathir that there is NO money in the piggy bank for a new national car project; his so-called government claims the previous BN government has incurred a Trillion ringgit debt; the Malaysian public is against it; but the one-man-cabinet has sounded HIS intent to plough ahead with his wasteful expensive (from previous experience) car hobby, and to fCks with economic-marker logic.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir told Parliament today that his Pakatan Harapan government will be reviewing the policy on car imports to protect local production when it rolls out the next national car project.

Not 'if' butwhen it rolls out the next national car project.

Mahathir has totally ignored Malaysian's repugnance at the very thought of another new national car project, not after the wasteful Proton disaster.

He is intent on his obsession and fCk you gullible guppies. What can you do?

What will be the next colossal Maddy-Project after the man-made island next to Pedra Branca has been develop, I suspect, to kacau the Sings.

Their qualifications are not in doubt, but the secretive nature with which the CEP operates has invited criticism about its true powers and purview.

Among their critics is Umno’s Khairy Jamaluddin, who used Daim’s visit to China — ostensibly to renegotiate questionable contracts and loans — to question why such efforts were not led by Saifuddin instead.

The former Umno Youth chief also cited the CEP’s reported summoning of former Chief Justice Tun Md Raus Sharif and Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin to brief the council as evidence that its powers are greater than stated.

Wakakaka and welcome, Gullible Guppies, to the old-new world of Mahathir-ism.

No doubt he'll blame it on the billions and billions and billions of ringgit lost during Najib's PM-tenure (but NEVER his from 1981 to 2003).

* note: in Australia John Howard and his PM-successors blamed Labor Party on similar grounds for a couple of decades - useful blame to avoid fulfilling "non-core" promises (Malaysian equivalent terminology of "non-core promises" would be "The PH Manifesto is not like the Bible", meaning it can be broken, wakakaka).

By contrast, Mahathir today has far more power than he has ever enjoyed, even during his 4th Reich. He now has a bunch of goofy gullible guppies to support him and his policies, BLINDLY.

But he's your adored lovable PM. Good luck, Guppies.

And you may possibly continue to enjoy the presence of Daim Zainuddin, the Chair of the CEP, and his economics prowess, wakakaka.

About Me

Just a bloke interested in the socio-political whatnots around the world, particularly those in Malaysia. Loves a laugh or/and story or two, or more, but loves civility and courtesy much more, especially in politics